San Francisco — Rent Registry & Compliance

Last reviewed: July 6, 2026

Overview

San Francisco’s Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Ordinance (Administrative Code Chapter 37) now requires most rental owners to report unit-level facts to the Rent Board to build a citywide housing inventory and to obtain a license to impose rent increases. The rule is codified in the Rent Ordinance’s reporting section, which also ties registry compliance to the ability to lawfully raise rent under the Ordinance. See the San Francisco Rent Ordinance for broader context.

The most important rule: You cannot lawfully raise rent on a covered unit unless you have “substantially complied” with San Francisco’s housing inventory reporting and hold a current license to impose rent increases for that unit (§ 37.15(e)) .

What the Rent Ordinance requires (Housing Inventory + License to Raise Rent)

• Who must report. Owners of residential dwelling units subject to the Rent Ordinance must report unit information to the Rent Board using the Board’s paper or electronic form/website (§ 37.15(a)) .
• What “owner-occupied” means. A unit is “Owner-Occupied” when an owner of record occupies it full- or part-time and does not rent it at any time, as defined by the fee chapter’s exemption for owner-occupants (§ 37A.1(f)) .
• What must be reported.
  • For all units: the unit’s mailing address and whether it is Owner-Occupied (§ 37.15(b)) .
  • If the unit is not Owner-Occupied: additional details including owner/manager business contact info, business registration number (if any), approximate square footage, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, whether vacant or occupied and the start date of that status, the start/end dates of any occupancies/vacancies in the past 12 months, and for tenant-occupied units the base rent in $250 increments and whether specified utilities are included (§ 37.15(b)(2)) .
• When to report and update.
  • Buildings (non-condo) with 10+ units: initial reporting by July 1, 2022; annual updates due March 1 each year (§ 37.15(c)) .
  • Condominiums and buildings with fewer than 10 units: reporting began March 1, 2023; annual updates due March 1 thereafter (§ 37.15(c)) .
  • Update within 30 days if owner or designated manager contact information changes (§ 37.15(c)) .
• License to impose rent increases. If the owner has “substantially complied,” the Rent Board issues a license to impose rent increases under § 37.3(a)(1)-(2); if not, the license is suspended and tenants are not obligated to pay any increase during the suspension period (§ 37.15(e)) . See San Francisco Rent Increases & Passthroughs for how increases work once licensed.
• How the City uses the data. The Rent Board uses the information to create a housing inventory to monitor compliance, analyze rents/vacancies, and assist other departments; the Board may not use it to operate a “rental registry” within the meaning of California Civil Code 1947.7–1947.8 (§ 37.15(d)) .

For general municipal code context, see the San Francisco Administrative Code and the San Francisco Housing Code.

Fees, invoicing, and how the portal ties in

• Annual Rent Board fee. The owner of each residential unit must pay the annual fee calculated under § 37A.2(d) and billed by the Rent Board; the fee is due March 1 each year, with escalating 5% late penalties on March 1, April 1, and May 1, and referral to collections if unpaid by June 1 (§ 37A.4) . Fee rules apply Citywide, including units that are exempt from rent increase limits, per the fee chapter’s scope (§ 37A.1) .
• Electronic billing/collection. The Rent Board may issue invoices and collect payments electronically through the online housing inventory established under § 37.15 (§ 37A.8) .
• Practical takeaway. In practice, the same online account that maintains the housing inventory is where owners also manage the annual fee. Paying the fee does not substitute for submitting the required inventory data, and vice versa (fee authority in § 37A; reporting/licensing in § 37.15) .

If your plans involve tenant displacement or post-reporting actions (e.g., withdrawal or owner move-in), review San Francisco Evictions & Just Cause.

Key reporting and compliance triggers

Related citywide topics that often come up with rent questions (but are covered separately) include San Francisco Use Districts, San Francisco Setbacks & Yards, and San Francisco ADUs.

Practical guidance

• Don’t confuse “owner-occupied” with owner presence plus a tenant. If any part of a dwelling is rented at any time, it is not “Owner-Occupied” for these reporting purposes; you must provide the fuller non–owner-occupied data set (§ 37.15(b); § 37A.1(f)) .
• Maintain contemporaneous rent-roll records. You must report the base rent in $250 increments and track when vacancies and occupancies begin and end (§ 37.15(b)(2)) .
• Align your rent increase calendar with your inventory status. Serving a rent increase without an active license means the increase is ineffective and the tenant does not have to pay it during the suspension months (§ 37.15(e)). Coordinate timing with the March 1 annual update and fee deadlines (§ 37A.4) .
• Expect the Board to use data for compliance checks. The housing inventory expressly supports investigating services, rents, and vacancies across the city (§ 37.15(d)) .

For procedural touchpoints and forms, start from San Francisco Tenant & Housing Programs.

Checklist

• Confirm your unit is subject to the Rent Ordinance and not fully exempt; if subject, create/update your Rent Board online account (§ 37.15(a)) .
• For each unit, report the mailing address and Owner-Occupied status; if not Owner-Occupied, report the full required data set (§ 37.15(b)) .
• Meet your initial deadline (10+ non-condo by July 1, 2022; condos/<10 by March 1, 2023) and update annually by March 1 (§ 37.15(c)) .
• Update within 30 days if the owner/manager contact changes (§ 37.15(c)) .
• Pay the annual Rent Board fee by March 1; track late penalties and avoid referral to collections (§ 37A.4) .
• Before serving a rent increase, verify your unit shows a current license to impose increases; do not serve until licensed (§ 37.15(e)) .

Risks & Ambiguities

Plain-English Summary

San Francisco requires landlords to keep their unit information current with the Rent Board and to pay the annual Rent Board fee each year. If you don’t keep your housing inventory up to date, you lose the right to raise rent on that unit until you fix it—and tenants do not have to pay the “increase” while your license is suspended (§ 37.15(e)) .

Source References

• Administrative Code § 37.15 (Reporting Obligations; Licensing) — housing inventory content, deadlines, and licensing to impose rent increases
• Administrative Code § 37A.1 (Scope; definitions relevant to owner-occupied)
• Administrative Code § 37A.2 (Fee calculation framework)
• Administrative Code § 37A.4 (Annual fee due March 1; 5%/month late penalties; referral by June 1)
• Administrative Code § 37A.8 (Electronic invoicing/collection through the online housing inventory)
• SF Rent Board portals and forms (official): Rent Board Housing Inventory & Fee Portal; Forms Center; File Documents with Rent Board; SF Rent Board Department page (links consolidated)

Also see topic overviews and related city pages for context:

• San Francisco Rent Ordinance
• San Francisco Rent Increases & Passthroughs
• San Francisco Evictions & Just Cause
• San Francisco Administrative Code
• San Francisco Housing Code
• San Francisco Tenant & Housing Programs

Retrieved passages

• San Francisco Zoning Code (Chapter 37.) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 37.15) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Chapter 41A.) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (§37.9) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (§37.9) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Chapter 37) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Chapter 41A) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (§37.3) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Section 37.8) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (Chapter 41E) High relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (§37.9) Medium relevance show source text
• San Francisco Zoning Code (§37.3) Medium relevance show source text

Cited sections

• Administrative Code § 37.15 (Reporting Obligations; Licensing) — housing inventory content, deadlines, and licensing to impose rent increases (§ 37.15)
• Administrative Code § 37A.1 (Scope; definitions relevant to owner-occupied) (§ 37A.1)
• Administrative Code § 37A.2 (Fee calculation framework) (§ 37A.2)
• Administrative Code § 37A.4 (Annual fee due March 1; 5%/month late penalties; referral by June 1) (§ 37A.4)
• Administrative Code § 37A.8 (Electronic invoicing/collection through the online housing inventory) (§ 37A.8)
• SF Rent Board portals and forms (official): Rent Board Housing Inventory & Fee Portal; Forms Center; File Documents with Rent Board; SF Rent Board Department page (links consolidated)
• San Francisco Rent Ordinance
• San Francisco Rent Increases & Passthroughs
• San Francisco Evictions & Just Cause
• San Francisco Administrative Code
• San Francisco Housing Code
• San Francisco Tenant & Housing Programs
• SF Admin Code.md
• SF Rent Official Links.md